Mercury retrograde ~ Change is inevitable

Change is inevitable. Or as Heraclitus says "Change is the only constant". Understanding impermanence and that nothing is ‘fixed’ but everything is subject to alteration is essential in Buddhist philosophy. But it’s when and how we change, especially breaking out of negative patters or restrictive molds that can make all the difference to our emotional, mental and physical well-being. With the current retro Mercury and Mars in Gemini, the time now is ripe to re-think, re-work, re-consider changes, in direction, in approach, and even in the deepest recesses of the heart-mind, as the planets suggest the plasticity of the mind is now heightened, particularly by personal active intervention and continuous movement. Indeed, it may be time now to (re)consider new ways of looking at the same old thing, or even walking down another street to get a completely different point of view...
Here's a wonderful poem, often spoken by Sogyal Rinpoche, to illustrate how we change, and how habits can be broken and life improves with practiced mindfulness:

“Autobiography In Five Chapters

1) I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost... I am hopeless.
It isn't my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.

2) I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don't see it.
I fall in again.
I can't believe I'm in the same place.
But it isn't my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.

3) I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in... it's a habit.
My eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.

4) I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.

5) I walk down another street.”

by Portia Nelson
From: Sogyal Rinpoche, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying
Image with thanks & ℒℴѵℯ_/✿\_ to the brilliant Karma Phunstok